DNA Parental Testing

There come up many precarious situations in life when you need to determine the actual father and mother of the child using DNA Parental Testing. This need to establish the legal and biological relationship between the parents and the child could be established by law like during immigration or done at the insistence of any of the parents too. For some couples who have multiple relationships, this DNA Parental Testing is the only way to establish the actual parents of the child. Also it helps people to know who they are and where their ancestors came from.

What is DNA Parental Testing?

Genetic DNA Parental Testing has been around for so many years now. Earlier we used methods like the ABO blood grouping test, testing with human leukocyte antigens, or analysis of various proteins and enzymes. However none of them were 100% reliable. It was only after the advent of DNA Parental Testing that such tests found legal recognition beyond doubt. This genetic fingerprinting test uses Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and also restriction fragment length Polymorphism.

DNA Parental Test Procedure:

All arrangements for the DNA Parental Testing are carried out at the lab. The test requires two specimens:

  1. Blood samples of the person required to be tested. This is required for exclusive parentage testing.

  2. Samples of buccal cells taken from inside the mouth using cotton swabs.

There are basically two types of DNA Parental Testing – Nuclear DNA Test and Mitochondrial DNA Test. Since the procedure there from tends to be tedious and time-consuming, only a highly trained and experienced doctor can perform the test correctly.

Steps Involved in DNA Parental Testing:

Such testing follows three simple steps which can tell you accurately about your parentage:

  1. Bunching up information:

DNA Parental Testing requires the father, mother and child to come up for the test. All information in their regard is recorded for future reference like name, age, address, birth date, social security number etc. If these results are required by law then the test will also gather things like face photograph, fingerprints, and the like.

  1. Specimen Collection:

Specimen of blood and buccal cells are collected at the lab. This can be done postnatal (after the child has been born) or even prenatal (during pregnancy stage).

  1. Testifying Results:

The labs normally require a time period of two weeks to give you the results. The result will be 0% if the test is negative and >99% is the test is positive. A positive result implies a biological relationship between the parents and the child.

Precautions to follow for DNA Parental Test:

  • Do not drink any caffeine products or use tobacco for at least four hours before taking the test.

  • Rinse your mouth three times with warm water before taking the test.

Conclusion:

Figures show that nearly thirty percentages of children born are out of adultery rather than wedlock. Though the results may cause embarrassing situations in some cases, it is a necessity to establish the parentage.

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